Mobile personal emergency response systems (PERs) include devices designed to be worn by individuals, such as a device implemented in a bracelet or watch form factor, that provides services, such as automatic fall detection, to the user. PER devices may be particularly useful to the elderly or to other individuals who have a higher than normal chance of becoming incapacitated due to a fall or other accident. A PER device may include a wireless communication link and logic, such as an accelerometer and an associated control circuit, to automatically detect falls.
In the event of an emergency, such as an automatically detected fall or a user-triggered emergency (e.g., a user pressing a “talk” or “communicate” button), the PER device may place a call to an emergency operator, who may evaluate the situation and determine an appropriate response, such as requesting an ambulance for the user. For example, in response to the automatic detection of a potential fall by the user (e.g., the wearer of the PER device), the PER device may place a call to an emergency operator. If the emergency operator is unable to communicate with the user, or the user indicates that there is a problem (e.g., the user has fallen and can't get up), the emergency operator may call for an ambulance or take other emergency action (e.g., call a neighbor or another designated emergency contact).
With a PER device, it can be important to be able to accurately detect fall events. Fall events that are not detected by the PER device may result in a failure to obtain emergency help for an injured user. Additionally, false positive fall events (i.e., events signaled by the PER device as a fall event but which are not fall events) can annoy the user and cause undue expense/strain on the communication infrastructure and/or the emergency response system.